The Bromfield girls Alpine ski team wrapped up its regular season competition Feb. 4, winning both matchups in a slalom tri-meet against Chelmsford High School and Westford Academy. The boys team took a win and a loss, relinquishing its undefeated record to Westford. The Bromfield teams placed third and second, respectively, in the Mass Bay West League’s alpha division.
This week’s competition was paramount to the girls team’s standing in its league. Composed mostly of rookie skiers, many of whom made their first high school slalom and grand slalom starts this winter, the team began the season with two losses, falling to Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in mid-January and Newton South High School a week later.
Had the team lost to both its competitors this week, it would have landed toward the bottom of the scoreboard, fifth out of the league’s six teams. As it was, Bromfield’s two victories—425 points to Chelmsford’s 419 and Westford’s 369—put its record at three wins, two losses, respectable enough to finish in third place, behind Newton South (5-0) and Acton-Boxborough (4-1).
The tri-meet allowed each team nine skiers, with the best five contributing points.
Sisters Imogen and Audrey Slavin led the team this week. The former, the team’s sophomore captain, placed fifth in the league in 33.04 seconds, while her younger sister—a freshman—took 16th in 38.78. Freshman Maddie Rausch followed close behind in 17th (38.83), junior Ashley Regan (38.93) was 18th, and sophomore Siena Stanten (40.86) put the team’s final points on the board in 24th.
Backing up their teammates on the hill were eighth-grader Nina Iverson (41.95) in 29th, freshman Annie Ivanov (44.31) 37th, and seventh-grader Sabine Moran (47.25) 43rd.
Westford is boys’ nemesis
The boys had their work cut out for them this week. Coming into the Thursday competition, both Bromfield and Westford Academy stood undefeated.
Coronavirus safety precautions mean that teams ski at separate times in the day this season, instead of switching off between skiers as they normally would. This, according to Coach Ray McCarthy, gives the team that races earlier in the day the advantage of better, less worn snow conditions. Unfortunately for Bromfield, Westford had the hill two time slots ahead on Thursday.
Bromfield put up a fight but couldn’t quite match Westford’s lineup, ultimately ceding the match 461-440. The Bromfield boys team beat Chelmsford (408), earning it second place in the league.
Senior co-captain Gavin Maddalone led the team for the first time this season, finishing sixth in the league in 29.08. Just a second behind was freshman Oscar Pride (30.11) in 10th, followed by senior co-captain Dylan Winchell (30.49) in 12th, and seventh-grader Cole Maddalone (31.42) in 16th. Freshman Rowan McCarthy finalized the team’s score with his 21st place finish in 32.58.
Senior Ben Brown was the team’s sixth finisher, 33rd overall in 36.44. He was followed by sophomore Noah Bagley (37.04) in 34th, and senior Townsend Southard Pantano (44.16) in 41st.
The competitive ski season typically would have been a bit longer, with six regular-season competitions plus the MIAA State Alpine Championships for those who qualified. This year, the coronavirus shortened the season, making last Thursday Bromfield’s final official competition. However, the team had one final race to look forward to on Feb. 11. Coach McCarthy said the details of this “bonus race” were being finalized; the race was planned for Thursday at the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area as a “fun way” to give skiers one last opportunity to hit the slopes.
